Key Signatures – the Circle of Fifths

The videos on this page help you to work out the key of a piece of music from its key signature. The information is interesting, but not essential for choral singing.

Creating the Circle of Fifths

A video showing how to set up the circle of fifths which can be used to calculate how many sharps or flats are in a key signature.

Using the Circle of Fifths for Major Keys

Once you have a circle of fifths you can use it to calculate how many sharps or flats are in a key signature. Watch this video to help you use your circle of fifths for the major keys.

Using the Circle of Fifths for Minor Keys

The circle of fifths can be used to calculate the key signatures for minor keys. This video shows how to use it for this purpose. Please be aware that this video requires some prior knowledge particularly with regard to enharmonic equivalents as using the circle, for minor keys, is a little more complex than it is for major keys.

Using the Circle of Fifths
This video gives a quick summary of using the circle for major keys. It presents the same information in a different way, which may be helpful.

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2 Comments Add your own

1. Hameed | January 9, 2012 at 3:18 am

THE SOPRANO STEEL PAN INSTRUMENT IS THE ONLY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MADE TO PRACTICALLY FOLLOW THIS CONFIGURATION.
2. practicechoir | February 28, 2012 at 10:23 pm

Thank you for the information.I think the idea of the circle of fifths is to illustrate the relationship between the number of sharps/flats and the music’s key, rather than a design for a musical instrument. So it is enterprising of someone to use it as a design after all.